As the prosecutor’s investigation into the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu’s Kartalkaya Ski Resort and resulted in the deaths of 78 people continues, the question of how the fire started is beginning to become clear, writes sabah.com.tr.

According to the information obtained in the investigation, it was stated that the fire was caused by hot oil splashing from the plate grill during breakfast preparations, and that the fire grew as a result of the kitchen staff"s incorrect intervention by pouring water on the flames.

Before the fire that started at 03.21 at night in the restaurant section of the Grand Kartal Hotel, the restaurant employees started preparing breakfast. Allegedly, the employees turned on the plate grill used in breakfast preparation. The hot oil on the device, which had been on for a long time and was heating up, suddenly caught fire.

Seeing flames rising from the kitchen, cook Faysal Yaver and kitchen workers Yusuf Karahanlı, Fidan Kurç and Mehmet Gündüz wanted to intervene in the fire. Instead of fighting the flames with a fire extinguisher, they tried to extinguish the burning device with water. However, after the hot oil came into contact with the water, the flames grew even bigger and spread around. It was reported that the flames spread from the uncleaned hood to the chimney, from where they spread to the roof and quickly engulfed the hotel.

The kitchen workers panicked and ran outside after the fire… The fire, which started on the 4th floor of the hotel where the restaurant is located, according to the rear entrance, quickly grew and engulfed the entire building.

In the fire that resulted in the death of 78 people, cook Faysal Yaver, kitchen workers Yusuf Karahanlı, Fidan Kurç and Mehmet Gündüz, who were found to have caused the fire due to negligence and were detained within the scope of the investigation launched, were sent to prison.